The journey begins....

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Day 1 London Gatwick to Las Vegas, Distance Travelled - A lot!

So day 1 of Shas and Jason's big adventure started early in the UK with a 6am alarm clock for the Cab to Gatwick....Gatwick is changing beyond all recognition from when I used to use it a lot. Security now upstairs, Garfunkels gone (traditional pre holiday breakfast stop), huge new duty free where the old security used to be and nowhere to sit! Breakfast in cafe rouge was extortionate but much needed before the flight.

We tried for the usual grovelling upgrade at the airline desk but were informed the plane was packed....and it was, mainly with stag do's of young blokes from Essex and Bristol most of whom seemed to have been in the bar since 7am. The two young idiots behind us on the top deck of the 747 kept moaning they weren't 'where the action was' on the bottom deck, but with 450 passengers squeezed into a very ageing Virgin jumbo complete with 1970's style in flight entertainment we were glad to be out of the way.

The usual preflight, during flight and post flight lack of fags meant by the time we reached LV airport, 13 and a half hours without a fag meant tiptoeing very carefully around 'you know who' until she had some nicotine in her veins. Security and customs at Las Vegas airport are so much nicer and friendlier than Miami and we were through in minutes and into the cab.

US law prevents you from flying in and driving an RV on the same day, so "sadly" we had to stay in Las Vegas for a couple of days at the Bellagio, something we have always said we would since seeing the fountains for ourselves about 10 years ago....and in Oceans 11!!!

The Bellagio is an amazing hotel, huge beyond belief with 3900 rooms, hundreds of gaming tables, millions of dinging fruitmachines, loads of restaurants, posh shops, galleries and a theatre complete with pool to house the 'O' Cirque du soleil show. We checked in and headed for our fantastic lake view room overlooking the fountains. They perform a different routine every half an hour with the music broadcast through the fountain TV channel. The music ranges from classical to Michael Jackson and we found ourselves just sitting infront of the window watching the world go by and the fountains perform...the view is spectacular with the hustle and bustle of the strip, views of Caesars Palace , Paris Hotel (complete with Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe), The flamingo (where Donny and Marie are in residence!), the fountains, the stratosphere and in the background the desert and mountains that surround Vegas.

Having now been up for 17 hours it was time to go and explore. We quickly found the fantastic pool complex at the back of the hotel where normal sun beds are free, posh ones are 100 dollars each for the day and cabanas (posh beds, tent, tv, fridge etc) are 500 dollars a day! Will need to gamble some more to get one of them. After cocktails by the pool, we headed off for a gamble....just a small warmup game of roulette. Of course Sharan didn't want to play but after doubling up her 50 dollars to 120 in 10 minutes, it was all ok!

Now shattered and heading into 20+ hours without sleep we headed for the famous Bellagios buffet...all you can eat for 34 dollars and an amazing selection available. You name it, it's there from sushi to roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, salads to exquisite deserts and cakes....this is going to ruin my 8 weeks of training in the gym before the trip.

Now fed, watered and having got our second wind, it was time to hit the tables. Shas in true 'high roller' style hit the 25c poker machines whilst after searching for Carribean stud poker for some time only to be told it had been discontinued (gutted- my favourite game since cruising on the ships) I had to settle for 3 card poker. It's a simple game where you bet on your 3 cards beating the dealers 3 cards....a simple win doubles your money but the better hand you have (straight, flush, 3 of a kind etc) , the better the odds if you win. If you have the QKA of spades then you also win the rolling jackpot which stood at about 10215 dollars!

Sadly I won none of it and we returned to the room after 26 hours on the go with Shas 4 dollars up and me about 20 down (not bad for me!) it was only 10-00pm in las Vegas and the fountains were still going and the music was pumping out across the strip but I think we had both passed out within seconds of heads hitting the pillow!

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